The New York Times Games app debuted a new leaderboard feature last month that allows users to check their performance against friends. Now, the makers of Wordle, Connections, Spelling Bee and the Mini Crossword are giving players a chance to compare their scores with some of NYT Games‘ “most dedicated celebrity puzzlers.” However, this is a very exclusive offer, as only the first 100 users who add the lineup of celebs — which include real-life friends jazz singer Laufey and “The Summer I Turned Pretty” star Lola Tung, Bravo staples Luann de Lesseps and Sonja Morgan, and “Abbott Elementary” star Chris Perfetti — will get to play with them. Related Stories Per NYT Games, users will be able to add celebrity puzzlers to their leaderboards on a first-come, first-served basis beginning May 8 at 10 a.m. E.T. Direct links to add the stars will be available via NYT Games’ blog and the celebs’ own Instagram Stories. The celebrities’ scores will be visible in the app until May 11. Popular on Variety “With my schedule, I’m always on the go. I love New York Times Games, like Wordle and the Mini Crossword, to center myself and stay connected with my friends no matter where in the world we are, like Lola Tung,” Laufey said. “Whether we’re comparing scores or sharing hints, it’s become somewhat of a tradition and gives us daily topics to yap about. So when I heard New York Times Games was adding a leaderboard to its app, I loved the idea of bringing even more friends (and my fans!) into the mix. It’s such a fun way to stay close no matter the time zone.” The multi-game leaderboard feature first rolled out on April 22 and, “without getting into specific numbers,” NYT Games senior product manager Ian Hipschman tells Variety the team is “really happy with the engagement on the Friends tab.” “People are really excited about being able to see their scores with their friends on the leaderboard,” Hipschman said. “People are sharing things to social media, and they’re tweeting about it, and writing into us and leaving app reviews. So we’re really gratified with how well this has been received so far. And a particular piece that people are really interested in is that kind of customization, of creating their profile and really expressing themselves through these illustrations that we’ve presented to them.” Hipschman says one of the tricky parts of creating a multi-game leader board was the fact that the Mini Crossword has been around since 2014 — but Connections, Wordle and Spelling Bee all entered the NYT Games group after that. “You can go back and look at your scores for previous dates for those games — but the calendar isn’t game specific, and so the calendar kind of just controls the entire leaderboard, which means you can find yourself in a situation as a user where you’re trying to look at a Mini score from 2018 and then you swipe over to Connections — but Connections didn’t exist yet in 2018 and so that was kind of a thorny product problem for us to solve,” Hipschman said. The way the NYT Games team took a creative approach to solving that logistical problem. “We created these really fun groups of illustrations for Connections — it looks like a bunch of dinosaurs. There’s like a comet coming down,” Hipschman said. “And for Wordle, we have Wordle as like a plant that’s growing from the ground. And we say, ‘Connections wasn’t created yet!’ ‘Wordle wasn’t around yet!’ And we kind of direct users back to the first date for those games.” Hipschman says touches like that “really adds to our product voice” across NYT Games brands’ Wordle, Connections, Spelling Bee and the Mini Crossword. “I think throughout our product, whether it’s in product, whether it’s in the way that we craft our puzzles — like Wyna Liu’s unique voice that is translated to users through her Connections puzzles — we then translate that product voice through our social posts and through our marketing,” Hipschman said. “But, in many ways, we hadn’t yet started using that product voice and those muscles in the way that we build our digital products, and this really offered us the opportunity to do that.”

Franky D Tank Member May 15, 2024 1,020 The whole thing surrounding Dean Takahashi made it impossible to find any of the jokes at his expense funny. In a perfect world, his long, continous failure to perform one task in the tutorial could be something to poke fun at. After all, I've gotten into a rut on games I've replayed so many times where a simple task I could do in my sleep took me multiple minutes (was playing Super Metroid and couldn't wall jump to save my life for multiple minutes, despite never having that problem through my previous dozens of playthroughs), and it can be funny to see such a failure go on for a comically long amount of time. Unfortunately for Dean, since he was part of a video game publication, his video was used as ammo to show that video game journalists are not real gamers, and it was just ridiculous from the get go. Now in 2025, I can be watching relatively new videos on Cuphead or difficult video games, and nothing kills my interest when the person in the video has to reference Dean in the tutorial level. There I'd the occasional joke where the person gets to that dash section of the tutorial and when getting past it, jokes how they got through the hardest part. While overplayed, it's harmless enough. The ones I have problems with is people doing that section or playing hard games and going "Well of course I was able to do that. I'm a gamer, not a game's journalist", or something to that effect. It's stuff like that which will make me instantly close the video. While it's not everywhere, it still manages to pop up from time to time. Anyone else here randomly come across something making reference/jokes about it? Am I just being overly sensitive to what is ultimately just a joke about something coming close to a decade old, or do you also get annoyed at it as well?  NaDannMaGoGo Member Oct 25, 2017 7,093 Franky D Tank said: While it's not everywhere, it still manages to pop up from time to time. Anyone else here randomly come across something making reference/jokes about it? Click to expand... Click to shrink... This thread is the first reminder of it in s very long time for me.  Fudgepuppy Member Oct 27, 2017 5,703 The whole "games journalists suck at video games" caused by this and the Doom 2016 video, just soured things so much for everyone. Fucking reactionary gamergaters.   Servbot24 The Fallen Oct 25, 2017 47,310 Mario gets high on mushrooms 🍄 😎 lmfaoooooo 🤣🤣🤣   Smokeymicpot Member Oct 25, 2017 4,367 Honestly forgot all about it. Thanks for the reminder though.   Prison_mike Member Oct 26, 2017 1,644 I didn't even know what this what so I googled the video… yeah he's embarrassingly bad at the game and it's hard to watch.   StephenNotStrange Member Jan 16, 2019 759 It's so stupid because AFAIK, even though he is in game media publication, he is not even "game journalist" in the sense of playing and review video games. He hasn't played game in a long long long time. He is more of "business journalist" who talked about the video game business. So people using him as a gotcha for "game journalist is bad" is just stupid and ignorant. IIRC, Jeff Grubb said Dean was just near the place where Cuphead is being played by press, and since they didn't have anyone currently free so they asked Dean to do it for them.  Extra Sauce Member Oct 27, 2017 6,974 Dean Takahashi should have received more criticism for running defense for David Cage than he got for being not very good at video games.   construct Saw the truth behind the copied door Member Jun 5, 2020 10,991 𖦹 haven't thought about this in forever   OhhEldenRing Member Aug 14, 2024 2,658 StephenNotStrange said: It's so stupid because AFAIK, even though he is in game media publication, he is not even "game journalist" in the sense of playing and review video games. He hasn't played game in a long long long time. He is more of "business journalist" who talked about the video game business. . IIRC, Jeff Grubb said Dean was just near the place where Cuphead is being played by press, and since they didn't have anyone currently free so they asked Dean to do it for them. So people using him as a gotcha for "game journalist is bad" is just stupid and ignorant Click to expand... Click to shrink... Multiple Journalists Callout VentureBeat Article About Quantic Dream's Defense of Alleged Toxic Culture Article in question https://venturebeat.com/2020/02/27/how-quantic-dream-defended-itself-against-allegations-of-a-toxic-culture/ The article does a lot of things wrong, like taking quotes from a group interview session of employees that was arranged by their bosses, and essentially discounting... www.resetera.com As Jason said at the time Video game journalism has taken some great strides over the past few years, but there are still those who value access over truth. Which, fine, to each their own. But to use that access to obfuscate truth to protect powerful people is an embarrassment to the profession. Running an article to discredit other journalists' investigation of a toxic workplace based on 1) an email interview with the boss and 2) group interviews with employees arranged by the boss is one of the most pathetic things I've ever seen in the games press. Infuriating. I can't stop thinking about this. Everything about this article is an insult to journalism. It ends on a massive quote about how amazing David Cage thinks David Cage is. As an editor I wouldn't allow most of this quote to be published, let alone to be the story's final words Click to expand... Click to shrink... Cuphead isn't something to bash him over, but his ethics as a journalist certainly are.  hydro94530 Chicken Chaser Member Oct 27, 2017 8,102 Bay Area Hella forgot about this until now.   Jamesac68 Member Oct 27, 2017 3,168 Thing that always gets me when I'm playing something at a show like PAX East or where the developer can watch, is I frequently hear I'm good at whatever game I'm playing. (Not all of them, not by a long shot, but regularly enough to notice.) My thought is usually along the lines of "No, you told me what to do and I'm doing it." I think people in general just aren't that good at learning games, and usually go through the "Duh!" phase in private.   SixelAlexiS Member Oct 27, 2017 9,130 Italy I'm actually mad at you OP for writing CupHead in the title.   Hong Member Oct 30, 2017 849 I haven't seen this particular instance referenced recently tbh. I do dislike that people are making fun of gaming journalism as a whole due to instances like this, although I can't deny there have been some really, really embarrassing examples.   PallasKitten Member Jul 11, 2022 1,741 SixelAlexiS said: I'm actually mad at you OP for writing CupHead in the title. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Oh good it isn't just me then, lol. But yeah I honestly kinda forgot about this whole thing. I haven't actually seen it referenced in years, but mind you, I rarely watch gaming related videos other than the odd video review or trailer here and there.  Derbel McDillet ▲ Legend ▲ Member Nov 23, 2022 23,615 I haven't seen this referenced in a minute, people seem to mostly reference an outlet (usually the wrong one) more than the person. But also, you're saying this on a site that still makes "too much water" jokes.  Bear Member Oct 25, 2017 12,221 OP Streisand Effect-Ed himself.   Baphomet Member Dec 8, 2018 21,565 Lol OP just reminded me about it so I rewatched it again , still funny to me.   Jazzem Member Feb 2, 2018 2,981 Yeah, hate this stuff. Someone universally hating journalists in any field, including gaming, is always a red flag. Usually speaks to someone who bases their views on reactionary headlines Derbel McDillet said: But also, you're saying this on a site that still makes "too much water" jokes. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Ugh, I know right. When I see those, it just reminds me how the poor woman got so many death and rape threats :(  Universal Acclaim Member Oct 5, 2024 2,062 I think I'm missing context for why the context surrounding him makes it worse as the years go by   JuniperAndSage Member Dec 27, 2019 6,923 Seattle OhhEldenRing said: Cuphead isn't something to bash him over, but his ethics as a journalist certainly are. Click to expand... Click to shrink... 99.99% of the gamers badmouthing him, games journalists, or "ethics in games journalism", are not talking about the Cage stuff though.   CloseTalker Sister in the Craft Member Oct 25, 2017 37,962 Franky D Tank said: While it's not everywhere, Click to expand... Click to shrink... That's an understatement haha. This thread is the most front-facing that moment has been in years   atomsk Member Oct 28, 2017 1,736 while I vaguely remember the Cuphead video and surrounding conversation, it wasn't until this thread that I realized it was the same guy who wrote Opening the Xbox I still have that book somewhere  DespiteTheNora Member Jan 30, 2025 1,410 JuniperAndSage said: 99.99% of the gamers badmouthing him, games journalists, or "ethics in games journalism", are not talking about the Cage stuff though. Click to expand... Click to shrink... This is true for most of the "LOL IGN" "4/10 too much water IGN" crowd that sees the words game journalists and loses their gourd. This industry specifically, like many I'm sure, has different segments crap on each other.  Khanimus Avenger Oct 25, 2017 45,946 Greater Vancouver ...you're wildly overestimating how much this matters as a cultural talking point.   gdt Member Oct 26, 2017 10,567 I vaguely recall this....I think   Thrill_house Member Oct 27, 2017 11,830 Never heard of this until you brought it up OP, after watching the video though holy SHIT that was painful. Like the poor bastard never played mario or contra years ago. Did the guy get dragged that bad? I don't even remember it honestly.   Joe Shlabotnik Member Oct 27, 2017 6,229 Jamesac68 said: Thing that always gets me when I'm playing something at a show like PAX East or where the developer can watch, is I frequently hear I'm good at whatever game I'm playing. (Not all of them, not by a long shot, but regularly enough to notice.) My thought is usually along the lines of "No, you told me what to do and I'm doing it." I think people in general just aren't that good at learning games, and usually go through the "Duh!" phase in private. Click to expand... Click to shrink... I had a very brief dalliance with video games "journalism" (just previews and reviews) many many years ago and I got this a lot too, and could never tell whether people genuinely had trouble with basic stuff or the PR or devs were just buttering me up. (Mostly suspected the latter)  Duffking Member Oct 27, 2017 6,613 Are there any instances where people repeat the whole "oh yeah their reviewer sucked at the game and gave it a bad score" where people aren't deliberately lying? Like in every case I can think of like the Cuphead thing, Polygon's Doom thing, it's just untrue and the footage wasn't captured by the person who reviewed it, and the game also got a good score.  Toddhunter Member Feb 22, 2025 358 Thrill_house said: Never heard of this until you brought it up OP, after watching the video though holy SHIT that was painful. Like the poor bastard never played mario or contra years ago. Did the guy get dragged that bad? I don't even remember it honestly. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Not in a meaningful way. Cuphead was released in 2017. Game reviews had lost all meaning at least like 5 years before that (think Jeff Gerstman being fired from Gamespot and so on). So anybody paying attention to them at that point was likely even more of a joke.  Agni Kai Member Nov 2, 2017 9,875 People don't forget.   Jamesac68 Member Oct 27, 2017 3,168 Joe Shlabotnik said: I had a very brief dalliance with video games "journalism" (just previews and reviews) many many years ago and I got this a lot too, and could never tell whether people genuinely had trouble with basic stuff or the PR or devs were just buttering me up. (Mostly suspected the latter) Click to expand... Click to shrink... Joke's on them if it's just flattery- I automatically disbelieve any compliment like it's a big soft fluffy ball hiding death-spikes inside.  Dranakin Member Oct 27, 2017 2,801 Oh, I never heard of this until the description in OP.   Jane Member Oct 17, 2018 1,610 Duffking said: Are there any instances where people repeat the whole "oh yeah their reviewer sucked at the game and gave it a bad score" where people aren't deliberately lying? Like in every case I can think of like the Cuphead thing, Polygon's Doom thing, it's just untrue and the footage wasn't captured by the person who reviewed it, and the game also got a good score. Click to expand... Click to shrink... IGN's terrible Sonic Unleashed review has an infamous moment where the reviewer complains about the controls being "unresponsive" as the footage shows them seemingly jumping into a pit on purpose.   ScOULaris Member Oct 25, 2017 12,024 I dunno, OP. It kind of deserves all the mockery it has received. Like, have you seen the video? 😆 Would it be better if his actual name wasn't attached to it? Like if it was just footage captured anonymously by an unnamed journalist that people were poking fun at?  OP OP Franky D Tank Member May 15, 2024 1,020 Damn, looks like the joke is on me going by the bulk of responses here. At least in the fact that I've been unlucky in watching videos with references to Dan and many here haven't thought about the incident until just this thread popping up randomly. I know internet law dictates I double down in hopes of looking better, but I will take the L gracefully. Still think the overall reaction was bad and the rest of my feelings stand. Not surprised that there are actual, good reasons to go against Dan and the outlet he worked for, but as per usual, the people who claim to care about ethics ignore credible and actual ethical breaches. Also. SixelAlexiS said: I'm actually mad at you OP for writing CupHead in the title. Click to expand... Click to shrink... PallasKitten said: Oh good it isn't just me then, lol. But yeah I honestly kinda forgot about this whole thing. I haven't actually seen it referenced in years, but mind you, I rarely watch gaming related videos other than the odd video review or trailer here and there. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Genuine skill issue for me. On computer I already have issues with grammar, making this thread on mobile doomed me to make mistakes. Now are you mad enough to burn me at the stake on the internet as a warning to others?  Otakunofuji Member Oct 27, 2017 2,670 There are 2 things here. 1. Dean posting that terrible "preview". 2. Other d-bags on YouTube being cringey about it. #2 doesn't excuse or forgive #1. You don't need to defend him in order to complain about the rest. And, anyway, Justin Mcelroy not understanding how fishing worked in Nier and making an article AND video about it and refusing to review it is far more egregious because it actually damaged the perception of that game back in 2010. Everyone knew Dean was just bad at games in 2017 with Cuphead.  ArjanN Member Oct 25, 2017 11,436 This video by Shaun is the last time I've thought about it, and that is 7 years old: View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-P9_oUV9Gw I'm sure the chuds are still beating this dead horse, but I haven't seen it brought up here in years.  Clay Member Oct 29, 2017 9,335 Franky D Tank said: Now are you mad enough to burn me at the stake on the internet as a warning to others? Click to expand... Click to shrink... What was that about taking the L gracefully? Stuff like this is so frustrating about movements like GamerGate. It is a funny video. And even if the guy reports more on business, and doesn't write reviews, it's still kind of ridiculous that someone who's been in the industry that long is THAT incapable of passing a simple tutorial. Obviously he doesn't deserve to be "burned at the stake." But I really don't see the harm in laughing at ridiculous videos like this one and the infamous Polygon Doom one. But when these movements start harassing people, or using it evidence of whatever corruption conspiracy they believe in, it looks questionable to poke fun at them, even if you don't share intentions with the shitty people. Anyway, I do think it's amusing that Dean is just really, really bad at games. IIRC there's been a few other similar incidents. I'm pretty sure he get partway through Mass Effect and complained online that it was ridiculously hard, and it turned out that he didn't realize you could level up.  tim1138 One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 6,778 I've legitimately never even heard of this before   Mesoian ▲ Legend ▲ Member Oct 28, 2017 31,443 I mean... No? Like I would give someone the side eye if they're still harping on it years later. I give it about as much thought as Griffin McElroy not being able to figure out fishing in Nier, which is almost none. It was not some flashpoint in gaming history.  SixelAlexiS Member Oct 27, 2017 9,130 Italy Franky D Tank said: Genuine skill issue for me. On computer I already have issues with grammar, making this thread on mobile doomed me to make mistakes. Now are you mad enough to burn me at the stake on the internet as a warning to others? Click to expand... Click to shrink... I will forever mock you as someone not good enough to be entitled in making thread titles.   AnimeJesus Member Oct 27, 2017 5,379 Vaguely remember this but didn't realize it was still a thing. Just seems like something you ignore and move on from.   OP OP Franky D Tank Member May 15, 2024 1,020 Clay said: What was that about taking the L gracefully? Stuff like this is so frustrating about movements like GamerGate. It is a funny video. And even if the guy reports more on business, and doesn't write reviews, it's still kind of ridiculous that someone who's been in the industry that long is THAT incapable of passing a simple tutorial. Obviously he doesn't deserve to be "burned at the stake." But I really don't see the harm in laughing at ridiculous videos like this one and the infamous Polygon Doom one. But when these movements start harassing people, or using it evidence of whatever corruption conspiracy they believe in, it looks questionable to poke fun at them, even if you don't share intentions with the shitty people. Anyway, I do think it's amusing that Dean is just really, really bad at games. IIRC there's been a few other similar incidents. I'm pretty sure he get partway through Mass Effect and complained online that it was ridiculously hard, and it turned out that he didn't realize you could level up. Click to expand... Click to shrink... With the bolded, I was trying (and unsuccessfully) to be tongue in cheek. As for the rest, you hit the nail on the head. In a vacuum, it's a video about someone being extremely bad and stuck in a simple spot for a comically long period of time. It should just be immortalized as a silly video of a really bad player at a video game. Unfortunately, outside context makes it harder to enjoy it that way, and when people reference it, the way it comes across is nebulous at best. SixelAlexiS said: I will forever mock you as someone not good enough to be entitled in making thread titles. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Fair enough, and it should be grounds for me to stop making threads. But that's not going to stop me from making them or even more importantly, making a fool of myself!  Transistor This isn't going to go the way you think Administrator Oct 25, 2017 41,386 Washington, D.C. This is legitimately the first time I've heard about it in years   Popoirandi Member Feb 25, 2024 769 Franky D Tank said: Am I just being overly sensitive to what is ultimately just a joke about something coming close to a decade old, or do you also get annoyed at it as well? Click to expand... Click to shrink... In my opinion yes. Kids at my school laughed at it when it happened, it was just funny. You're only making yourself stress over nothing if you always have to evaluate every funny event to see if it can be interpreted in a way that gives ammo to people you argue online with.   Morrigan Spear of the Metal Church Member Oct 24, 2017 36,914 I had forgotten about that, but thanks for reminding me OP, so I can laugh at him once more. Extra Sauce said: Dean Takahashi should have received more criticism for running defense for David Cage than he got for being not very good at video games. Click to expand... Click to shrink... But he can be mocked for both. (Also, he should also have received more criticism for giving softballs to Bobby Kotick too)  Gloam Member Oct 29, 2017 1,612 I'm sorry OP, I feel like you jumped ahead in the premise of the thread here. What's the "whole thing"? Is there some backstory behind the video that puts it in a new light?   Mobius and Pet Octopus Member Oct 25, 2017 16,530 First time I heard about it in years, but I don't mind being reminded how people tend the cross the line with their criticisms. Especially around... anything to push a weird contorted narrative.   Riot Member Oct 27, 2017 225 To me it's just the equivalent to a bad baseball first pitch. The ineptitude is funny, it's not inherently linked to some movement or ideology. That's not to say some people haven't or don't do that but you can't just lump everything into the same group.  

Last week, Blizzard Entertainment announced the full details behind its upcoming limited-time crossover event between Diablo 4 and Diablo Immortal and Berserk, the long-running dark fantasy manga created by the late Kentaro Miura. Beginning on May 1 for Diablo Immortal and May 6 for Diablo 4, players will be able to collect cosmetics themed after characters and weapons inspired by the manga, which first began publication in 1989.On Monday, Polygon attended a roundtable interview with Viviane Kosty and Emil Salim, the lead artists for Diablo 4 and Diablo Immortal, respectively, to discuss the process of adapting Miura’s iconic universe to the setting of Diablo, how they went about choosing which characters and monsters to highlight from the manga, and how Miura’s original artwork inspired them not only while working on the in-game crossover, but as artists themselves.Image: Blizzard Entertainment“We really saw that it was a natural fit right from the very beginning,” Salim said. “It fits with Diablo on a story level; the story of Berserk is really, really dark. It’s a dark fantasy, it’s full of violence, endless war, desperation, so it’s perfect for us. And then on the visual side, too, it’s also a perfect fit. The works of Kentaro Miura through Berserk have already been a huge influence for a lot of dark fantasy artists for many, many years. And so for us, in the Diablo Immortal team, when we first got the confirmation that it was going to be Berserk, we were super excited. We already had so many ideas of, like, Oh, we can do this and we can do this. So yeah, the whole process just felt really easy because both brands just kind of complemented each other so well.”“I would say, challenge-wise, compared to previous collaborations within Blizzard IPs, I would say the past ones have been a learning experience for us where it allowed us to make better decisions this time around to make sure that we can honor both IPs at the same time,” Kosty said. “We really wanted to highlight and also pay tribute to Berserk as well as stay true to our gameplay as well.”Image: Blizzard EntertainmentWhen asked how the team went about choosing from the manga’s colossal cast of characters for the crossover, Salim and Kosty were ecstatic to explain in more detail. “I was geeking out with Vivian and thinking back about our process really early on; we compared it to a buffet,” Salim told Polygon. “It was like a buffet of characters and story points and weapons and everything we could possibly think of, so obviously we cannot do everything. So for the modal side, we decided to focus in on the Golden Age arc, which is the very first one that triggered Guts, the main character’s entire journey for the rest of the manga series. It [gave] us a lot of materials to play with, including the eclipse, which is sort of like the climax of the Golden Age arc. So for example, in Diablo Immortal, we were able to use the eclipse as the central theme for our Struggler’s Bane event. There’s also so many more, like even the very first battle against Nosferatu Zodd. That was so, so significant for the manga. Being able to recreate that original battle for the boss fight in the collab was very significant for us.”When asked about their thoughts on Kentaro Miura’s legacy and the influence of his artwork on their own, both Salim and Kosty were equally passionate and enthusiastic in their appraisal of Miura’s talents as an illustrator and storyteller. “I feel like the way he depicted motion and action and emotion, and I think those were what just hit me the hardest, because I really can feel the frustration in Guts,” Kosty said. “Or when he’s swinging his sword and cutting things, you can really feel how swift it is, how clean-cut his swordplay is. I think that’s what hits me the most as an artist, it’s that I can kind of feel his [brushstrokes] and it makes me geek out a lot.” She particularly complimented Miura on his stroke markings, which she and the rest of the Diablo 4 art team tried to emphasize in the character models, particularly in the cape textures of the Skull Knight and Griffith armor skins.Image: Blizzard Entertainment“For me, the work of Kentaro Miura has influenced me since I was very, very young,” Salim says. “I can go way back: That’s how I learned how to draw a human face. That’s how I learned about weapon design, armor design, before I even knew that there was such a thing as weapon design or armor design, or that people actually get paid to do these things, which is insane. It’s how I learned how to draw horses, and I know it sounds ridiculous, but if you are a huge, huge fan of Berserk, you can almost see how his works in a way got even better throughout the years. Going from the Golden Age arc and how he renders people to the Millennium Falcon arc, he matured so much. Also, how he does motion, that’s another thing that as a very young artist, that’s how I learned how to apply ink work and how to apply pen work to convey motion, and also how he can almost choreograph his battles through a still image on a manga page, which is insane. That’s something that’s really difficult to convey. There is no animation; it’s a book, it’s manga. So yeah, it’s really, really well done.”Diablo Immortal and Diablo 4 players will be able to see for themselves how Blizzard’s art team managed to bring Kentaro Miura’s characters and concepts to life when the collaboration goes live.See More:

Menu Home News Hardware Gaming Mobile Finance Deals Reviews How To Wccftech Gaming The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered’s Shadow-Drop Actually Helped Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 David Carcasole • May 1, 2025 at 04:38pm EDT When The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered was finally revealed after weeks of leaks, many RPG fans began to worry for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Clair Obscur was a brand-new RPG released just days after the Oblivion remaster, and the concern was that Oblivion would swallow up all the attention from Clair Obscur. On the outside, it looked like Xbox had screwed Clair Obscur in a big way. That was not the case, as Clair Obscur surpassed one million copies sold days after its launch, and is one of the best-rated games of 2025 so far. A report from The Game Business showed that not only did Clair Obscur not get swallowed up by Oblivion, but the two seemingly helped each other. Both games were available on Xbox Game Pass, so it's not a surprise that, per Ampere Analysis' data, the majority of players for both Oblivion and Clair Obscur were Xbox players. What is interesting, though, is that 55% of players who played Clair Obscur on Xbox also played Oblivion. 35% of all Expedition 33 players also played Oblivion, showing huge overlap between the two. As Kelper Interactive's portfolio manager Matt Handrahan told The Game Business, "I think it just drew attention to quality RPGs that week." "We always knew that Expedition 33 had a very specific identity. When I was in the press, I saw the Western-style RPG and the Japanese-style RPG as having quite different appeals and audiences. I knew plenty of people that would play an Elder Scrolls game that wouldn't necessarily play Final Fantasy and vice versa." "Also, by the time that we rolled around, we had momentum of our own and we felt pretty confident that we could stand beside it. I think there were other aspects, like the price point we were at and the inclusion in Game Pass… so we knew we would have a lot of interest around the game. We were confident in that. And it went as well as it possibly could have done in our eyes. And, actually, proximity to Oblivion didn't seem to harm us at all. In many ways, I think it just drew attention to quality RPGs that week and everybody was thinking and talking about the genre." Handrahan also spoke about how Clair Obscur's inclusion in the Xbox's summer showcase ahead of the game's release was a major help. "[During the Summer Showcase] our game was placed alongside Gears of War, Fable and products that are very traditionally known as AAA products," Handrahan said. "It let people understand what it was in a way that I think we would've struggled to do if we weren't allied with Xbox in that way. We couldn’t have done it through a Steam demo alone, for example. It helped us to kind of claim this AA territory in a much more confident way. Because it's a vague space that exists somewhere between small games and extremely big games, and there's a lot of ground that that covers." Xbox's support in the showcase is a clear help to Clair Obscur, but it's more interesting and hopeful to see that the shadow drop of such a massive RPG was able to help catapult the release of a new entry to the genre. Products mentioned Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 USD 49.99 Buy from Amazon Subscribe to get an everyday digest of the latest technology news in your inbox Follow us on Topics Sections Company Some posts on wccftech.com may contain affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com © 2025 WCCF TECH INC. 700 - 401 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada

تسيطر Sony حاليًا على سوق مستشعرات الكاميرا بنسبة 45%، متفوقة بفارق كبير على منافسيها Samsung وOmniVision. ومع ذلك، كشف تقرير حديث من Bloomberg أن الشركة تدرس فصل قسم مستشعرات الكاميرا الخاص بها، مع الاحتفاظ بحصة أقلية فقط، في خطوة قد تغير ديناميكيات السوق.في السنوات الأخيرة، قد يظن البعض أن Samsung وOmniVision ينافسان Sony بشكل متكافئ، خاصة أن الأجهزة الرائدة الحديثة تستخدم مستشعرات من الشركات الثلاث. على سبيل المثال، يُستخدم مستشعر ISOCELL HP9 من Samsung كمستشعر تيليفوتو في أجهزة مثل Vivo وXiaomi، بينما تتجه Honor إلى OmniVision لتطوير الكاميرا الرئيسية في Magic8 Pro، من ناحية أخرى، تعتمد Apple بشكل رئيسي على Sony لمستشعرات كاميرات iPhone، بما في ذلك iPhone 16 Pro Max .رغم المنافسة، تحتفظ Sony بالهيمنة بحصة سوقية 45%، بينما تأتي Samsung وOmniVision في المركزين الثاني والثالث بحصص 19% و11% على التوالي، تُقدر قيمة قسم مستشعرات الكاميرا في Sony بين 35 و49 مليار دولار (5-7 تريليون ين ياباني)، مما يعكس حجم الأعمال الضخم الذي حقق مبيعات بقيمة 12 مليار دولار العام الماضي، كما ذكر Bloomberg.لكن التقرير يشير إلى تراجع هامش الربح من 25% إلى 10% في السنوات الأخيرة، مما دفع Sony للتفكير في طرح قسم المستشعرات كشركة مستقلة تحت اسم Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corp، مع الاحتفاظ بحصة أقلية. هذا القرار قد يسمح بمزيد من المرونة في اتخاذ القرارات، لكنه لم يُحسم بعد. تشير Bloomberg إلى أن الاضطرابات الاقتصادية والتعريفات الأمريكية المستمرة قد تجبر Sony على تأجيل خطط الفصل مؤقتًا، مع توقعات بإعلان رسمي لاحقًا في 2025.يُعد هذا التطور مفاجئًا، خاصة أن Sony لا تزال رائدة السوق، ومستشعراتها تُستخدم على نطاق واسع في أجهزة مثل Huawei Pura 80 Ultra، كما أشار منشور @RODENT950 على X. لكن الضغوط الاقتصادية وتراجع الأرباح قد تدفع الشركة لإعادة هيكلة أعمالها للتركيز على قطاعات أكثر ربحية مثل الألعاب والموسيقى، التي حققت نموًا بنسبة 37% و28% على التوالي.المصدر:

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Senior Animation EngineerThat’s No Moon EntertainmentLos Angeles or Remote9 minutes agoApplyThat's No Moon is an independent studio of storytellers and game-makers who believe in the power of narrative-driven experiences. With a diverse team of talented developers, from some of the top game studios in the world (Naughty Dog, Infinity Ward, Bungie), our shared vision is to create the future of AAA experiences with a culture of creativity, collaboration, and responsible production practices. Our passionate team of developers help shape our studio, our projects, and our future.We are looking for a Senior Animation Engineer ready to make ground-breaking innovations for a AAA title. The Senior Animation Engineer will focus on 3Cs (Character, Camera, Controls) working with animators and designers to deliver extraordinary experiences. Grounded, believable animations are pivotal to our game, and in this role, you will help build cutting edge technology empowering us to deliver a great narrative.Responsibilities:Architect, implement, and maintain the selection, integration, and manipulation of AAA quality gameplay animations that reflect the game design goals and mechanicsBreak down features, building plans and assessing dependenciesWork with the production team and engineering leadership to schedule those plan sCollaborate with engineers and other disciplines to provide holistic solutions.Own features and systems, driving them to meet the needs of those holistic solutionsWrite production quality C/C++ for systems, features, tools, and workflowsAnalyze different approaches to solve problems and discuss the tradeoffs between themWrite and maintain documentation related to features, tools, and workflowsRequirements & Skills:Strong understanding of 3Cs to expertly craft systems that attain the design goals of the game, maximize player comfort, and match player intuitionProven skill at shepherding animation from DCC to final pixels, retaining artistic quality and intentSolid knowledge of C++Strong math skills(Bonus) Shipped at least one AAA game as a 3Cs architect(Bonus) Comprehensive understanding of Unreal Engine Blueprints, state machines, blend spaces, Montages, Anim Graphs, and Event GraphsQualities:Facility in communicating in written and verbal modalities in a remote environmentAbility to resolve conflicts peer-to-peerFlexibility in switching tasks to accommodate production prioritiesAbility to appreciate other departments’ perspectivesMaintains integrity and confidence while working in a fast-paced environmentApproachable and respected member of the teamLeads by example, collaboration, and mentorshipWorks at the highest level, technically and aestheticallyInsatiable desire to push qualityTNM considers a number of factors when determining each role's base pay range, including industry benchmarks, location, experience, and other job specific skills. In addition to base pay, this role may be eligible for other incentive compensation including equity and profit share. The estimated base pay range for this role is U.S. only and not applicable for locations outside of the U.S.The estimated base pay range for this role is: $160k-$195kTNM offers competitive and comprehensive benefits that include medical, dental, vision, 401(k) match, flexible PTO, supplemental life and disability, and more. Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary based on country of residence and/or part-time or temporary employment status.That's No Moon is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ancestry, color, citizenship, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, legally protected physical or mental disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.To those interested in submitting for roles at That's No Moon, we have a few reminders to ensure a safe application process.1. If one of our recruiters reaches out to you, it will be with a "@thatsnomoon.com" email address. We do not email via personal email addresses either.2. We do not conduct interviews via Discord or WhatsApp.3. We will not ask you to provide sensitive personal information.4. We will never request that you buy equipment specifically for your interview/test.We are saddened that people are being taken advantage of and ask that, if you ever have any doubts about whether you are speaking to an official member of the That's No Moon team, to reach out to our official social handles directly.#LI-remote Create Your Profile — Game companies can contact you with their relevant job openings. Apply

The video game website Polygon has been sold to click-farm powerhouse Valnet and much of its masthead has been laid off, Kotaku has learned. The sale was subsequently announced in a press release. Multiple staff members have posted online about losing their jobs or about colleagues now being out of work. Read more...

We’re entering the new era of spatial computing, where robust extended reality (XR) tools and flexible workflows can enable developers to add interactions, scale graphics, prototype, and test in-Editor. In the2024 Unity Gaming Report, we predict greater demand for XR games, and many of the contributing studios agree with this forecast.Unity’s senior advocate Antonia Forster sat down with Andrew Eiche, Owlchemy Labs’s CEOwl, to get his perspective on the future of spatial computing and practical tips on developing for Apple Vision Pro.Antonia Forster: Hi Andrew, thanks for joining me. Let’s start by looking ahead. What do you see as the future for VR and spatial computing?Andrew Eiche: One of the biggest things that we’re moving into is using XR devices as a general spatial computing environment for domain-specific tasks, with Apple Vision Pro and the changes to Meta’s operating system leading the way. We’re trying to solve the paradigm of how to do a generic workload in VR versus an extremely specific one.What does it look like when we actually want to work in XR? We’re trying to take existing tasks and transfer them to an identical paradigm in a spatial environment. Hopefully developers will settle in quickly and we will be able to understand what the breadth and depth of this media is.This is very important for us to do so we can discover the utility and intuitiveness of the technology. In this industry, platforms fall along a spectrum of these markers, and those with the most potential for adoption land in the high utility and high intuitiveness quadrant. With VR, we want to ensure that it’s moving in that direction – highly useful and highly intuitive, the quadrant where phones, PCs, and smart TVs fall into.Looking into the future, thinking about spatial computing helps make VR more useful, but we still need to work on its attainability. How do we do this? We change the primary input vector to align with the platform that players focus on the most: mobile. From there, we need to focus on removing friction with implementing hand tracking, making headsets lighter, and getting better optics.You spoke about the evolution of technology. What other tech trends do you think might impact XR in the next few years?Gaussian splatting is incredible, and I think that the next step for it is going to be figuring out better capture and animation. We solved the wrong problem with three-dimensional capture, where we assume that if we just cover the space and cameras or use light fields, it would be great, but there’s something that just works better, like a transparent Gaussian. I think we’re going to see a huge push into that and in figuring out how we are going to optimize it.I also think AI is going to have an influence. One of the really interesting use cases I’m waiting for is when we don’t have to render the whole frame, just part of it. What if we render 30% and then we kick it off to a Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), and it just fills it in, based on all the data it has before and after? Suddenly, the graphics chip that’s sitting in our headset is now PC-capable. It’s literally how the reflections work for NVIDIA RTX™, so we are already walking down that road.There’s also AI filling in the gaps of weight painting, or seeing generative AI potentially replace a best-fit algorithm as a tweening. A best-fit algorithm has pieces to build with, and if the optimal fit is halfway between the pieces, using generative AI to move the slider halfway is interesting, useful, and has artist control. This would be great for animators who want to focus on doing their key poses and not spend time tweening. AI could help with that, and then the animator can go in and clean it up.Thank you for the insight! Based on how the XR space is trending, what is your advice for developers entering this era of spatial computing?From an interaction design standpoint, you need to break down the way you interact with something and not try to fit a square peg into a round hole. It’s tempting for developers to jump in and get deep into it, but as a new developer, I recommend approaching spatial computing slowly. Take your time stacking the right building blocks.For example, when porting Job Simulator, we started by thinking about the right times to use operating system-level interactions. When we put up a SwiftUI window for the Apple Vision Pro version, we debated when to use pinch. We really followed how Apple uses it because they’re extremely specific about when to use it and what to use it for.When you’re not interacting with a window, you’re interacting with a 3D object. At this point, you need to stop thinking about it like an app on a 2D monitor and more like a physical product design for a real-world object. Design objects in an intuitive way, following principles of real-world object design. Make sure that you continuously test your user experience, and realize that the only thing that counts is when the game is actually being tested with real users in a real space, on a device. You need to do the work.It’s key for you to have it in your hands, and have others interact with it. I recommend allocating plenty of time for modification. The experience can feel different on different platforms. Specs can differ and it’s important to be flexible.Lastly, what’s special about VR is how to explore it. Our version of exploration includes sitting at a desk that has closed drawers and getting to rummage through it. It’s incredibly interesting to pick up each object and see how it works and interacts. One of the key reasons that players prefer this interaction is because we’re putting things in their hands and allowing them to really mess with the world around them, and find out what that world is like. We are not making them interact with something that is far away or that they’re disconnected from.Getting more granular on tips for spatial computing, what advice would you give to developers looking to port or develop games for Apple Vision Pro? How has your experience been using Unity’s visionOS support while porting Job Simulator?We’ve been working closely with Unity and Apple, and aligning on the best way to bring our hopes and vision to life. We got Job Simulator running really quickly on Apple Vision Pro and used it similarly to building in iOS. One of the things that took some time to work out was making it a fully immersive game. Unity had to call a function that would communicate our desired output to the Apple operating system. Prior to doing so, we kept encountering a flat window, and if you closed it, the game was over.We were developing for a fully immersive game, and being a general computing operating system, exiting a game is new to us. Building for PC, we never had the second step of quitting the application, since the player can just hit the X. When we put it on Quest, it was really binary and the game either ran, or did not. Suddenly, on Apple Vision Pro, we were on this device where the game can go into the background, and we needed to do the work to figure out how to actually leave the application.My advice is to be really collaborative and open. You never know when someone will have the fix to a bottleneck you’re experiencing. It’s not only good for you, but the community as a whole. We’re extremely active on the Discussions forums, and in opening tickets and speaking with Unity. It helps us find solutions that also benefit the rest of the community. Submitting bug reports there has provided us with the opportunity to work with other devs who are in similar situations. It definitely speeds up our learning curve and is instrumental in helping us move development forward.I’d love to end this interview with one last nugget of inspiration and insight for our community. What’s the most valuable thing you learned about visionOS development that you will take to your next Apple Vision Pro project?We’ve existed in two ecosystems for years – Windows PC and Android. In moving to development for visionOS, which shares many similarities with other Apple operating systems,we learned in what spots we had made assumptions and leaned a little bit harder on the operating system in a potentially incorrect way. We figured out where we could have done better.Another key insight to keep in mind is the value of Facetime and sharing your screen to show other people what you’re experiencing – say, for debugging. That screen is your application running, your code running, and others can see your view perfectly. This is something that is notoriously hard for other headsets to do, and Apple Vision Pro does it effortlessly. That would be my fast tip.Want to know more? Read our new 2024 Unity Gaming Report, and check out this video playlist, where expert creators discuss this year’s biggest game development trends.If you’re ready to dive into Unity’s support for Apple Vision Pro, you can get tips from other devs developing for Apple Vision Pro and share your feedback on the AR/VR/XR discussion forum.